Trinchera Ranch Owner Responds to Chieftain Editorial
June 20th, 2010
The Pueblo Chieftain recently published an editorial attempting to blame Trinchera Ranch owner Louis Bacon for Xcel’s recent decision to reduce its solar commitment to the San Luis Valley.
Mr. Bacon’s response was published in today’s Pueblo Chieftain and is included below.
Op-Ed for Pueblo Chieftain
By Louis M. Bacon
The Chieftain’s editorial of June 13 regarding Trinchera Ranch’s opposition to the proposed transmission line and its effects on the San Luis Valley is misinformed and just plain wrong.
The utilities (Xcel Energy and Tri-State Generation and Transmission) are trying to make it a case of “Not In My Backyard” in order to deflect their attempt to railroad through a deeply flawed, expensive plan that causes unnecessary environmental damage to one of Colorado’s last remaining undeveloped wildlife and scenic corridors without ever having seriously studied the alternatives.
The Chieftain fails to recognize that there is substantial opposition to this project in and around the San Luis Valley. The newspaper is playing into the utility companies’ scheme to position me as the singular opponent when there are many other groups and hundreds of individuals who have spoken out against this project.
Many of us hope to find a better way to develop renewable energy in the region for local use and export that is in keeping with the ecological benefits green energy is supposed to deliver.
Better solutions exist — solutions the utilities’ own 2008 research found to be feasible and without major flaws. Yet Xcel and Tri-State have been adamant in only considering stringing their 150-foot towers along a virgin area in what will be a less effective, more expensive route, rather than using existing transmission corridors.
It now appears they are attempting to use Trinchera’s objections over the proposed transmission line as a straw man so that they can climb down from a costly commitment to deliver certain types of solar energy while conveniently blaming someone else.
In their recent case filing, Xcel reveals the truth. Their costs for certain types of solar energy in the Valley have soared recently, especially when compared to natural gas alternatives.
The excess cost of solar thermal generation over gas generation has risen by 170 percent, according to Xcel’s own testimony. In fact, Xcel’s filing questions whether paying that much of a premium is in the public interest.
Xcel’s most recent forecast shows the rate of electrical demand statewide slowing through 2015. So while the Valley needs to strengthen its energy reliability, the utilities don’t actually need its export energy any time soon. Given that, their recent change of direction is understandable, but their scapegoating of Trinchera Ranch is disingenuous and irresponsible.
As the largest private employer in Costilla County, as a major supporter of dozens of local organizations and causes and as someone who has protected tens of thousands of acres in the region, I am deeply committed to the well-being of the San Luis Valley and surrounding area.
Finally, let me be perfectly clear. The attempts to smear me and Trinchera Ranch for delays in the Valley’s renewable energy development ignore a number of realities: I support renewable energy development and increasing the energy reliability in the San Luis Valley; the transmission line proposal is opposed by hundreds of area residents, not just Trinchera Ranch; my commitment to preserving beautiful and threatened natural areas goes back generations in my family. It was a key ingredient in the Forbes family’s decision to sell Trinchera to me in 2007.
We and other opponents are simply asking the utilities to be thorough and fair in their analysis of whether a new line is needed. If it is, we expect them to route it in the most effective, affordable and least-impactful manner in a transparent and open process.
The utilities’ and Chieftain’s attempts to blame me are unfortunate and counterproductive. They are not only unfair and willfully mischaracterize my motivations, but they get in the way of finding a better solution in which everyone can win.
Click Here to view on the Chieftain’s site.